Wristwatches · Wristwatch
LeCoultre 6B/159 AM, Air MInistry Royal Air Force Watch, Military Issued, circa 1943
- Maker / attribution
- LeCoultre (maker)
- Date
- c. 1943
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- vws1699
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws1699)
- Catalogue title (original)
- LeCoultre 6B/159 AM - Air MInistry Royal Air Force Watch - Military Issued - c.1943 (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number vws1699), this is a wristwatch by LeCoultre, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1943. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Vintage Watch Specialist
A Charming LeCoultre Field-Style Watch in Beautiful Original Condition with an Ecru Dial Featuring Natural Patina and Blued Steel Hands, c.1945 Founded in 1833 in Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux, LeCoultre quickly became one of the most innovative names in watchmaking, producing over 400 calibres and pioneering key horological advancements. Before merging with Jaeger in the 1930s to form Jaeger-LeCoultre, the brand supplied movements to elite names including Patek Philippe. Known for precision and refinement, vintage LeCoultre watches remain sought after for their craftsmanship, heritage, and understated military elegance. What’s on Offer An excellent example of mid-century military design from the middle of WW2, this vintage LeCoultre military issued 6B/159 AM presents in charming, honest condition. The ecru dial boasts a rich, even patina, with intact Arabic numerals—charming deterioration on 2 and 4 only adds to its vintage character. The blued steel hands remain sharp, sitting proudly beneath the original crystal. Housed in a polished stainless steel case with minimal wear, this piece boasts original military markings on the case back. A beautiful and collectible piece of LeCoultre and military history and is a charming watch on the wrist - we love this one! Rarer than hens teeth as the boss would say - we don't expect it to around for long.
Historical context
Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
The wristwatch displaces the pocket watch; waterproof cases, self-winding and grand complications.
The wristwatch overtook the pocket watch. Military use in the First World War, aviation, water-resistant cases (1926), automatic winding (1923–31), rectangular Art Deco designs and early chronographs and calendars defined the period.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Industrial Revolution
Atlas type guide
Military, pilot and travel watches
The wristwatch owes much of its adoption by men to warfare and aviation. Wristlets — small pocket watches soldered with lugs and worn on a strap — were used in colonial campaigns and became standard equipment in the First World War, with protective grilles over the crystal ('shrapnel guards'). Louis Cartier's Santos (1904), designed for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, is often cited as an early purpose-made pilot's watch.
In the Second World War governments specified watches in detail: the German B-Uhr observation watches, the American A-11, and the British 'W.W.W.' (the 'Dirty Dozen' set of 1945). After the war, jet travel brought GMT and world-time watches, which show two or more time zones at once — Louis Cottier's world-time mechanism and the Rolex GMT-Master (1955) are examples.
What to look for
- Military markings on the case back: broad arrow, issue numbers, 'W.W.W.', 'A.T.P.'
- High-legibility black dials with luminous Arabic numerals; oversized crowns for gloved hands.
- 24-hour hands and rotating 24-hour bezels or city rings on GMT/world-time watches.
- Wire lugs on early wristlets converted from pocket watches.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug wristlets: c. 1900–1925.
- Military specifications of the Second World War: 1939–1945.
- GMT and world-time wristwatches: mainly after 1950.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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